It appears there is some value in event marketing. According to a report by the Advertising Research Foundation, Harris Interactive conducted a poll of 5,000 people after they attended a brand sponsored event (e.g., a sports event, walk-a-thon, theme park, trade show, etc.). 
The results are interesting to say the least. The Advertising Research Foundation is quick to point out that they used three different analyses and two different research companies and every time, they came up with the same results. Those results told them that event marketing (or experiential marketing) actually works.
Here are some of the most interesting statistics from the research according to eMarketer:
- Business-to-consumer events
- Purchase intent increased from 11% all the way up to 52% among consumers who attended brand sponsored events.
- Purchase intent expressed by these event attendees translated into purchases approximately 50% of the time.
- Business-to-business events
- Purchase intent increased to 54% among the 2,000 trade show attendees polled who had interacted with a brand at the event.
So it would appear that sponsoring branded events and attending trade shows that align with your company or product's brand message can be very successful. I think a lot depends on which event specific brands decide to sponsor or attend, but the argument can certainly be made that someone on the marketing team for a given company should be responsible for researching, testing and analyzing the ROI for the company's event and experiential marketing strategies.
Also, a lot could be said for the opportunities certain events allow for brands to develop relationships with attendees.
What do you think?
I think you and your statistics are right my friend, assuming you have a good product. You cannot peddle junk just because you have a fancy event. But why not have a fancy event? It's fun.
Posted by: Robin Matuk | February 6, 2008 10:07 PM | Permalink to Comment